Miller’s Thumb

In the small streams, the bullhead strikes fear like a great white in a swimming pool. With a huge head and full of bristle, Cottus gobio is found in rivers across Europe and is an adaptable fish – even swimming in the brackish waters of the Baltic.

He does not grow large, the British record is a round ounce, but he has character and seems huge in the tiny trickles where he is the sub-aqua king. There he feasts on insect larvae and crustaceans – though he does not object to a maggot and is often caught by accident rather than design. Fishpool knows a man who caught a triple brace when barbel fishing. That’s some feat.